


colors burnt into my eyes

by scootsaboot



Category: Borderlands, Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom
Genre: Fluff, Gen, M/M, and just general shenanigans with the squad, domestic AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-08
Updated: 2015-11-08
Packaged: 2018-04-30 13:38:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5165819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scootsaboot/pseuds/scootsaboot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Why are we doing this again?” Jack asks when they start loading up the car. </p><p>“Because,” Rhys starts, sliding their bags as far back into the SUV’s cargo space as he can. “Fiona invited us. And it’ll be…fun.” He hesitates on the word because he’s only been camping a handful of times, and honestly, hanging out in the woods with no electricity isn't his favorite way to spend a weekend. But he hasn’t seen much of his friends lately and despite their questionable idea of fun, Rhys is just happy to spend time with them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	colors burnt into my eyes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lelelego](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lelelego/gifts).



> this stemmed from a conversation lego and I had about the gang all hanging out together and it quickly got out of hand. it's set in her domestic au, and I hope you guys enjoy it!
> 
> the link in the fic leads to a short horror comic that you are free to read or not!

Rhys checks, and then double and triple checks the contents of his and Jack’s bags. Full sets of clothes for three days, check, toiletries, check, flashlights, backpacks, their share of food, check, check, and _check_. Beside him, Warrior sticks his nose into the bags, sniffing interestedly. Rhys pats the Doberman’s head, and suddenly remembers his camera.

He peeks into the office, where Jack is still at his desk, tapping away on his laptop, not even dressed for the day yet.

“You’re not wearing a shirt,” Rhys says as he steps inside, Warrior following close behind. Jack glances up at him for only a moment before turning his attention back to his computer.

“Real astute observation there, kiddo.”

Rhys rolls his eyes as he starts searching the room for his camera. While Jack’s desk is fairly neat and organized, his own is…much less so. There are several stacks of paperwork strewn across it, and an array of pens and pencils, as well as a few pictures. He starts to pull open the drawers, furrowing his eyebrows when he doesn’t find the camera in any of them. Closing them again, he peers over at Jack’s desk, and frowns when it’s not there either.

He starts to rifle through some of the file boxes behind his desk that hold a few outdated knick knacks from his desk at work.

“Looking for something?” Rhys hears Jack ask and he sighs, putting his hand on his hip as he turns to scan the room again.

“Camera,” he says, padding over to Jack’s desk to look behind it. When it’s not there either, he huffs and turns to leave the room, glancing back at Jack before he goes. “Will you get dressed? We have to leave in like twenty minutes.”

Jack waves him off and Rhys leaves to search the living room. After _still_ not finding it, and feeling a little desperate, Rhys gets down on his hands and knees and checks under the couch, the coffee table, the TV stand…

He hears a soft click behind him and turns to see Jack, still not dressed, lowering the camera with a grin. “Ohoho, that’s a keeper.”

Rhys frowns and gets back to his feet, making his way over and plucking the camera out of Jack’s hands. He turns the screen so he can see it and gets an eyeful of himself, bent over, ass in the air. He quickly deletes it.

“Where was it?” he asks, powering it down.

“Bathroom,” Jack says. “Which is weird, by the way. You been taking dick pics in there?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”

Rhys heads back to their bedroom to pack the camera away and zip up their bags. Jack comes in after him and finally changes into some real clothes, though the way he’s sighing makes Rhys think he’s not happy about it.

“Why are we doing this again?” Jack asks when they start loading up the car.

“Because,” Rhys starts, sliding their bags as far back into the SUV’s cargo space as he can. “Fiona invited us. And it’ll be…fun.” He hesitates on the word because he’s only been camping a handful of times, and honestly, hanging out in the woods with no electricity isn’t his favorite way to spend a weekend. But he hasn’t seen much of his friends lately and despite their questionable idea of fun, Rhys is just happy to spend time with them. 

“Oh _yeah_ , you sound thrilled.” Jack’s sarcasm is palpable as he shoves the cooler in alongside their bags before pulling the door closed.

“Shush,” is all Rhys says as he opens the door to the back seats. He glances back at Warrior and pats the seat, urging the dog to jump up. When he does, Rhys takes a moment to coddle him, scratching behind his ears and kissing his muzzle. Warrior’s been on a few car rides before, but those were always pretty short, and usually to the vet.

“God,” he hears Jack climb into the driver’s seat. “It’s a two hour drive. The dog’s gonna be fine.”

Rhys gives Warrior one more scratch before he shuts the door and climbs into the passenger seat. He pulls on his seatbelt and clicks it into place, looking at Jack expectantly until he does the same.

“We’re grabbing Vaughn first, then we’ll get Fiona and Sasha.”

“If they invited us, why am I the one driving?” Jack mutters, backing out of the driveway.

“We won’t all fit in their car,” Rhys says matter-of-factly, “besides, it’s not like you’d let someone _else_ drive.”

Jack snorts in what can only be agreement and Rhys leans forward to plug the AUX cable into his phone and hit play on his road trip playlist.

Vaughn slides into the backseat comfortably after they put his things in the back, only grimacing when Warrior sits right up next to him and pants next to his ear. Rhys happily turns in his seat to talk to the smaller man on the way to Sasha and Fiona’s place.

When they pick the sisters up, the first thing Fiona does is criticize how much stuff they brought. Her and Sasha’s bags are considerably smaller and Rhys gets red in the face when she asks him how much conditioner for his hair he’d brought, hitting it right on the nail.

Conversation flows easy once they get to the highway as they all catch up. Warrior happily sits sandwiched between Sasha and Vaughn, enjoying the attention they give him. Fiona pokes fun at Rhys’ music choices when Taylor Swift comes on, but looks taken aback when Jack is the one to defend the song, and then start monologue-ing about why 1989 was the best album of last year.

Everyone seems to settle down around the hour and a half mark of the drive and Rhys is happy to watch the scenery pass by. He can see the mountains over the tree line now, still a little fuzzy from the distance, but he smiles at the blue sky, not a cloud in sight.

When they finally pull into the campsite at the base of the mountains, and right along the edge of a river, they all clamber out of the car to stretch their legs. Rhys rolls his shoulders and starts to help unload, grabbing the handles on one of the tents and sliding it out of the back. He’s not prepared for the weight of it and the bag hits the ground immediately, nearly taking him with it.

Next to him, Sasha cracks up, “oh my god, you have such noodle arms!”

“Shut up!” Rhys tries to sound offended but he ends up laughing too. Vaughn takes pity on him and takes the tent off his hands, carrying it to a spot a few yards past the fire pit.

They get all their tents set up pretty quickly, even with Jack and Rhys struggling with theirs because Jack refuses to read the instructions and nearly put his eye out with one of the poles. Once they get it up though, Fiona announces that they’re going to hike up the mountain trail.

“Ughh, I thought we weren’t doing that till tomorrow?” Rhys complains.

“Aw come on you big baby. Sasha nudges him with her elbow, grinning. “It’s really nice out today.”

“Fine,” Rhys sighs dramatically. “I gotta change though.”

He heads into his and Jack’s tent and grabs a shirt and a pair of shorts from his bag before undressing. He tugs the shorts on first, quickly buttoning them before pulling the tank top on over his head, tugging the hem down. Rhys rolls his shoulders and reaches up to adjust the strap for his arm, pulling it tighter against his chest.

Jack steps into the tent behind him and he glances over his shoulder to see him rooting around in his own bag. Rhys brings his hand up, rubbing over the visible joint of where his prosthetic arm meets his shoulder. He grabs his flannel button down from his bag and shrugs it on over his shoulders.

After pulling on his hiking boots, Rhys steps back out of the tent, slinging his bag onto his back. Fiona glances at him and immediately throws a hand up to shield her eyes.

“Holy shit, have you _ever_ been outside before?” she asks, squinting.

Confused, Rhys looks down at his bare legs, and notes that…yeah, okay they’re a little pale.

Sasha and Vaughn are sniggering now too and Rhys huffs.

“I’m blind!” Sasha laughs, sliding her sunglasses over her eyes.

Rhys makes an offended noise, then points an accusatory finger at Vaughn, “he’s even whiter than I am!”

“Sure, but he’s wearing pants,” Fiona says, shrugging on her backpack, “Now can we get going, Wonderbread?”

“That’s hurtful.”

“Don’t worry babe,” Jack steps up behind him, “I dig the corpse look,” and slaps his ass as he passes by. Rhys jolts at the contact, and then glares at the man’s back. Deciding Jack doesn’t deserve a response, Rhys whistles for Warrior to follow them, and they set off for the trail.

\--

“Sawney Bean Trail?” Vaughn reads the faded sign at the bottom of the mountain trail, adjusting his glasses. “That’s kind of…ominous.”

“Isn’t that the cannibal guy?” Sasha asks.

“Oh _man_ , you think there’s a bunch of cannibals living up there?” Jack asks, clearly amused. “Just waiting for innocent hikers to wander into their clutches then…bam!” he grabs Rhys’ shoulders, making him jump. “Never seen or heard from ever again.”

“I think,” Rhys says dryly, shrugging Jack’s hands off. “Whoever named this trail just has a fucked up sense of humor.”

Fiona’s already starting up the trail, rolling her eyes. Everyone shuffles after her, rocks crunching under their boots.

“You think they cook the hikers first, or just eat ‘em raw?” Jack asks.

“Gross,” Rhys mutters, Warrior trotting along beside him.

“Human is supposed to taste like pig,” Sasha says from ahead of them, “I bet they’d do all kinds of stuff with it. Human bacon, human jerky…”

“Why do you _know_ that?” Vaughn laughs.

Sasha just turns and wiggles her eyebrows at him.

The continue along the trail, cracking jokes and laughing along the way, joined only by the gentle sounds of birds, and wind passing over the mountains. Once they start up the incline, they fall into a more stretched out formation, with Sasha and Fiona taking the lead, followed by Jack and Vaughn, and Rhys bringing up the tail end with Warrior, already winded.

He grunts as he lifts his knee to climb over a particularly large rock, and ends up having to utilize his hands to get over it. Warrior waits for him over the small ridge, wagging his tail and watching him carefully. When Rhys finally makes it over, he silently congratulates himself, but when he glances up, everyone else is already at least ten steps ahead of him.

He sighs and starts to climb over the next collection of rocks, already knowing he’s going to need a break by the time he gets to the curve up ahead. 

“You alright back there, Rhys?” he hears Vaughn call from ahead and he waves him off, pulling himself up over the worst of the incline.

“Yeah, just uh, gimme a sec,” he says, trying to hide how out of breath he is. Man, he really needs to renew his gym membership. He straightens up and catches up to the rest of the group, and they take a short break.

The next hour passes slowly as they continue along the trail, their group getting more spread out, and Rhys falling further and further behind. Warrior patiently walks beside him, bumping against his legs every now and then.

“Ugh,” Rhys wheezes, doubling over and resting his hands on his knees, grimacing when the Doberman licks his chin.

“Oh for the love of—“he hears, and then there’s the sound of rocks under heavy boots that stop just in front of him. Jack turns his back to him and bends his knees, before reaching back to hook his hands under Rhys’ thighs, pulling him onto his back. Rhys wraps his arms around Jack’s neck as the man straightens up again.

“I can walk,” he mumbles with a frown, but makes no move to let go.

“ _Can_ you? Hard to tell,” Jack snorts, adjusting Rhys against his back before continuing along the trail. “I knew you were a wimp, Rhysie, but this is just sad.”

When they catch up with the rest of the group, Vaughn rubs an arm across his forehead tiredly, “aw man, can I have next turn?”

“Sorry,” Jack says seriously, “piggyback rides are reserved for people who regularly put my dick in their mouth.”

There’s a beat of silence, before a chorus of “aw _gross”_ and “what the fuck” echoes from the group. Sasha makes a gagging noise and Jack just laughs, even when Rhys, face burning, tells him to shut the hell up.

When they reach the summit, Rhys is set back on his own feet and he’s happy to stretch his legs out again. The ground is relatively flat, and a small picnic table is set up near the edge of a cliff, a wooden fence blocking the area in.

Rhys steps up to the small barrier and looks out over the mountains, and the forest where their campground is. A soft breeze rustles the trees, and sunlight sparkles against the river that runs through the valley. The view alone is worth the trek up here, and Rhys can’t help but fish his camera out of his backpack to snap a picture.

“Hey,” Fiona calls out to him, and Rhys turns just in time to get a sandwich thrown at him. “Lunch time,” she says, taking a seat at the picnic table alongside Vaughn. Rhys grins and heads over, taking a seat beside Sasha and Jack. Warrior sits on the ground beside Rhys, who gives him a couple treats before digging into his sandwich.

They take their time to eat lunch and relax for a while, conversation sparse as they enjoy themselves.

When they finish up and get ready to leave, Rhys glances back out toward the view of the valley beneath them.

“Hey wait,” he says, and everyone stops packing up. Rhys holds up his camera with a smile, “we should take a picture.”

“Oooh, good idea!” Sasha says, already moving to crowd into Rhys’ space. Fiona and Vaughn are happy to follow suit, and Warrior barks at the commotion, wagging his tail.

“I didn’t bring the tripod though,” Rhys admits, “someone’s gonna have to take it.”

“I got it,” Jack says, snatching the camera out of Rhys’ hands and stepping back. The four friends huddle together, the view of the valley behind them. Rhys slings an arm around Vaughn’s shoulders, with Sasha ducks in front of them, throwing up a piece sign. Fiona slides in beside Rhys, raising to her tiptoes to rest her elbow on his shoulder.

There’s a brief moment of Jack waiting for the camera to auto-zoom, before he hits the button once, then again, just in case. When he pulls the camera away from his face, everyone breaks their formation and Rhys steps over to him, taking the camera.

He grins when he sees the picture, already deciding he’d print it and frame it for the wall at home. When he glances up again, he barely catches Jack’s eyes, right before the slide off his face to look down at the camera.

“You’re gonna be in the group picture next time,” Rhys says, smiling, “the tripod’s back at camp.”

“No way,” Jack snorts, “I can’t be seen in a picture with a bunch of _nerds_.”

“Oh that’s rich,” Fiona says, “coming from the king of nerds.”

“That’s _overlord_ to you,” Jack turns his head to glare menacingly at her.

Rhys takes advantage of the distraction to lift the camera and take a quick candid shot of Jack, who, when he hears the shutter, turns his glare on _Rhys_. The younger man back-pedals away quickly, shutting the camera off and tucking it back into his bag, laughing.

“Alright, let’s get going. I wanna try to make it to the top before it gets dark,” Sasha says, and they all head off again.

\--

They don’t make it to the peak; Rhys is already bent over on his knees against by the time they get three-fourths of the way up, and even Vaughn is starting to lag a bit. Luckily, going down is much easier, and they make it back to camp just as the sun is starting to set over the horizon.

“God, I feel so gross,” Rhys complains, setting his backpack down beside his and Jack’s tent. He’s sweaty and dirt is clinging to his legs and arms and it’s _horrible_.

“Me too,” Sasha sighs, shoulders slumping, “I wonder where the showers are.”

“Hang on, I’ve got a map,” Vaughn shuffles around in his bag, until he finds what he’s looking for. He glances over the paper, “Mm, looks like they’re back near the entrance of the campgrounds.”

Sasha sticks her tongue out, “too far.”

“Agreed.”

“We _could_ just take a dip in the river,” Jack says, jerking his thumb toward the body of water only a few yards from their tents.

Rhys wrinkles his nose up at the idea, but before he can say anything, Sasha’s already kicking off her boots. She strips down to her underwear and takes a running leap into the river, cannonballing into the water.

“Whooo!” she shouts when she comes up for air, waving to the rest of the group to join her.

“At least put on a bathing suit!” Fiona shouts in return.

“It’s too late!” Sasha laughs, her voice echoing. Fiona shakes her head and steps into her tent to change.

Vaughn is quick to follow suit, folding his clothes and setting his glasses down on top of them before jumping in the water.

Rhys can’t help but laugh at his friends, and he and Jack quickly change as well (Rhys hesitates to remove his prosthetic arm, but reminds himself that the likelihood of seeing other campers is…slim), before joining them.

Fiona complains about the coldness of the water when she finally steps into it, and Sasha is quick to splash her. She shouts in surprise before glaring at her sister and jumping in to dunk her head under water.

It’s dark by the time they all get out and huddle around the fire to warm up and make s’mores. Rhys shivers in his sweater, pressing up to Jack’s warm side as much as he can. Jack’s got three marshmallows over the fire as opposed to everyone else’s one.

“Jack, your marshmallows are on fire again.”

“Shit,” Jack pulls them back, blowing the fire out quickly, but they’re already burned.

“Stop wasting all the marshmallows!” Fiona says from across their little circle, pulling her own back to squish it between her graham crackers.

“It’s not a waste if they get eaten, alright,” Jack makes a few s’mores with them and hands them over to Rhys, who’s more than happy to eat them. He loves burnt marshmallows.

“Hey!” Sasha says suddenly, straightening up in her seat, “we should tell scary stories!” She takes an excited bite out of her s’more and looks at the other expectantly.

“Ughh, can we not?” Rhys complains with a frown.

“You a scaredy cat?” Fiona teases meanly.

“ _Oh_ yeah,” Vaughn laughs, “He can’t even watch Beetlejuice without getting creeped out.”

“Wow Vaughn, I thought we were friends,” Rhys says tartly.

“God, you’re such a weenie,” Sasha shakes her head, “can I start my damn story now?”

There’s a murmur of approval from the group and Rhys sighs, tucking closer to Jack.

Sasha grins and leans forward again, the fire casting a sinister shadow across her cheeks as she starts her story.

[“…and when he looked at the body, the head started to turn, the face covered in blood and two accusing eyes stared right into him."](http://emcarroll.com/comics/faceallred/01.html)

When she finished, there was a moment of silence and Rhys couldn’t help but shudder, goosebumps raising on his skin.

“Geez, you just have that saved up? Good lord,” Vaughn laughs.

“Pretty scary,” Jack said smugly, “but I bet I can top it.”

“Please don’t,” Rhys mutters, but Jack just laughs and wraps his arm around Rhys’ shoulders before starting into his own tale.  

Fiona and Vaughn tell their own stories as well, but Rhys opts out when it’s his turn, and they all decide to call it a night anyway.

Rhys changes into his warm pajamas and curls up in his sleeping bag, Warrior coming to lay down beside him. Jack joins him and it’s not long before Rhys drifts off to sleep to the sound of the other man’s soft snoring.

He makes an unhappy noise when he wakes up several hours later with a _serious_ need to pee. Groggy and not able to see much, Rhys sits up to feel around for a flashlight. When he finds it, he yawns and gets to his feet, having to crouch just a bit to avoid hitting his head against the top of the tent.

He reaches for the zipper…and pauses. There aren’t any sounds coming from outside the tent, save the gentle wind in the trees, but. Rhys frowns, as thoughts of Sasha’s _stupid_ campfire story came back to the forefront of his mind. He tried valiantly to shove it away, because it was ridiculous and there was _no one_ out here but them.

God dammit.

Rhys turns back toward the other occupants of the tent; Warrior and Jack are both still dead asleep. He looks between the two before kneeling down beside Jack and shaking his shoulder.

“Jack,” he whispers, shaking the man harder when he doesn’t stir. “ _Jack._ ”

“What?” Jack finally says, voice rough from sleep. He squints up at Rhys grumpily.

“I have to pee.”

“Thanks for the update,” Jack throws his arm over his eyes.

“Come with me,” Rhys says quietly, resting his chin on his knee.

Jack groans out a sigh, “Why? You need me to hold it for you?”

Rhys kicks him in the side.

“ _Ow,_ God, _fine._ ” Jack gets to his feet sluggishly, and Rhys lets him exit the tent first, clicking on his flashlight. They carefully make their way to the tree line and Rhys hands the flashlight off to Jack before stepping over to one of the bushes, back facing the other man.

Rhys tries to hurry up because he swears he just heard something somewhere in front of him. When he turns around, Jack’s arms are crossed and his head is tilted downward, his eyes closed. Rhys feels a little guilty dragging him out of bed; he looks _exhausted_.

When they climb back into their sleeping bags, Jack wraps an arm around Rhys’ waist and tugs him close, pressing his face into the curve of Rhys’ neck before passing out again.

\--

They get off to a slow start the next morning, all feeling a little sore from their hike. Sasha and Vaughn get breakfast ready, together, only because none of them trust Sasha to not cook something really weird.

They all settle around the fire pit again, sleepily picking at their breakfast and deciding what to do for the day.

“We could go rock climbing. I brought some gear,” Fiona offers.

Rhys groans, “God, please no more physical activity. My legs are killing me.”

“Y’know, the whole point of camping is to like, do something active,” Vaughn laughs, taking a large bite out of his toast.

“Ugh.”

“Relax, we’ll do something easy today. We can do rock climbing tomorrow before we leave,” Fiona says, finishing off her breakfast. “We could go fishing. Sash’ and I rented a couple poles.”

They all agree that, while fishing probably isn’t the most fun activity, it’ll be a nice way to relax for a while. They head down to one of the shallower banks of the river, wading into the water until it reaches their knees. Rhys rolls up his pants before stepping in, wiggling his toes in the soft mud beneath him.

There are only three poles, so Fiona, Vaughn and Jack all take one, while Sasha and Rhys wait and watch.

“Oh my _god_ , this is so boring,” Rhys moans not ten minutes later, when no one has caught anything. Sasha shoves him, putting her wet hands on his shirt. “Hey!” Rhys stumbles, and turns to splash her back.

“Hey, Dumb and Dumber,” Jack says from his spot some yards away, sunglasses perched on his head, “you’re scaring the fish away.”

“She started i— _AHH!_ ” Rhys yelps, jerking his leg away from whatever just brushed against it. He frantically looks down in the water, just barely able to make out a fish swimming away from where it’d rubbed its slimy body on his leg.

“Ugh,” he shudders, making a face. When he looks up again, Sasha’s lips are pursed together for only a moment before she bursts with laughter. Rhys can hear everyone else start to laugh too and he huffs, crossing his arms.

“That shriek!” Sasha’s still laughing, “oh my god! Are you scared of fish, Rhys?!”

“I’m not—no!” Rhys frowns, bringing up a hand to smooth his hair down, “I just don’t want them touching me with their…slimy…it’s gross okay!”

Sasha grins evilly, and Rhys watches her bend down and dip her arms into the water.

“What are you doing?” Rhys narrows his eyes suspiciously. He doesn’t get a response, but moments later, Sasha’s straightening back up, struggling to pick something up.

Rhys’ eyes widen when she pulls a wiggling fish straight out of the water, clutched in her bare hands, splashing against the surface.

“Impressive,” Vaughn whistles from his spot beside Fiona.

“Sasha—“Rhys starts, already backing away.

“C’mere, Rhys,” Sasha coos innocently, holding the fish up, “he just wants to say hello!” She advances on him and Rhys _books_ it. He curses the water for slowing him down as he tries to get away from Sasha, running back toward the shore.

She’s faster though, _somehow,_ and when she catches up to him, she nearly bowls him over and he _feels_ it. He feels that damn fish smack right against the back of his neck, and shudders when it slides down his back before splashing back into the water.

They’re both banned from the river after that, forced to sit and wait on the bank until the others are done. Rhys sticks his tongue out, rubbing his neck furiously, swearing he can still feel the slime on his skin.

Jack and Fiona both catch a few fish, which end up as dinner later that night. They spend most of the day goofing around at their camp, playing cards, taking pictures, and later, Rhys makes the trek to the showers because the river just isn’t going to cut it for him today.

When he gets back, they eat and share a quiet moment to watch the sunset.

Later, after that sky darkens, and everyone’s meandered back to their tents with a slew of yawns, Rhys finds himself alone around the dying campfire. The embers are just barely glowing beneath the wood, nearly smothered out. His head is tilted back slightly, just enough so he can stare at the stars above the trees, shining bright against the night sky.

It’s breathtaking, and Rhys has a hard time tearing his eyes away.    

He’d always lived in big cities, filled with constant noise and bustling of crowds, and so many lights, they drowned out nearly everything in the sky. Maybe it’s because of that that he’s able to really enjoy the view now—appreciate it for the short time he has with it.

A tap at the back of his head drags him out of his thoughts and he blinks sleepily up at Jack, who’s staring down at him. A lazy smile tugs at Rhys’ lips, and Jack raises an eyebrow.

“You gonna sit out here all night like an idiot, or…?”

“I’m trying,” Rhys says flatly, reaching up to push Jack out of his line of sight, “to enjoy the view.”

“ _Hey_ ,” Jack shoves Rhys’ hand away and, because he’s an asshole, steps closer until his knees dig into Rhys’ back. He leans down, resting his hands on Rhys’ shoulders and blocking his view entirely, “I got a view you can enjoy right here.”

Rhys can’t help but laugh, and he warmly reciprocates when Jack kisses him.

He sighs when Jack pulls away again, taking his warmth with him. Just as he’s considering getting up to join him in the tent, his sleeping bag is tossed down beside him. Rhys glances over to see Jack spreading both of their sleeping bags out together, a fleece blanket thrown over his shoulder.

Rhys finds himself smiling again, and once Jack is finished with his…it looks more like a nest than anything, they lie down together. He hears Warrior sniffing beside him, and Jack is quick to pull him in so their shoulders are touching, before the dog can wedge himself between them, as he often likes to.

On his back, gazing up, somehow the sky looks even bigger, enveloping the earth and filling in all the edges. Jack drags the blanket over them, and Warrior curls up at Rhys’ side.

“We could get one of those sun roofs for the house,” Jack says after a few moments, voice soft and quiet, “put it right over the bed.”

“The sun would shine through it every morning,” Rhys mumbles, already starting to feel his eyelids grow heavy. “It’d wake me up.”

 He turns onto his side, shifting to rest his head against Jack’s shoulder, “Wouldn’t be able to see this view anyway.”

Jack makes a thoughtful sound and curls his arm around Rhys, his gaze on the sky, just as intent as Rhys’ had been. Rhys smiles softly, and he presses a kiss against Jack’s jaw before tilting his head to watch the sky again, content. 


End file.
